The Representation of Men and Translation

Men in contemporary female popular fiction have become objects to be displayed and looked at by the female heroines. The key themes in representing masculinity in this literary genre are men’s physical appearance and their personalities. This subsection will examine how these features are created and recreated.

ST: I paid them almost no attention whatsoever, barely listened to them as I took their order and certainly made no eye contact with them. If I had I might have noticed that one of them (yes, James, of course) was very handsome, in a black-haired, green-eyed, five-foot-tenish kind of way. I should have looked beyond the suit and seen the soul of the man (Keyes 2003, p. 9-10).

TT: toi hau nhu chang buon de y, gan nhu chang them nghe ldc phai ghi lai do an, thuc uong ho keu, va di nhien tham chi cung chang them ngo ai. Neu co, chac toi da de y thay mot trong bon ho (vang, di nhien roi, la James) rat dep trai, toc den, mat xanh, cao tam cung met sau. Le ra toi phai nhin thay bo quan ao kia de thay duoc tam hon ben trong cua nguoi ta (Keyes 2010, p. 1314).

[I almost didn’t bother to pay attention or to listen when I have to take notes of the food and drinks they order, and of course I didn’t even desire to look at them. If I did, I should have noticed one of them (yes, of course, James) was very handsome, black hair, blue eyes, height of about 1 m60. I should have seen those suits so that I could see the soul inside him]

ST: His body was strong and perfectly toned. His long legs were muscular from hours spent working out in the gym. He wasn’t a very tall man, but he was tall enough to make Holly feel safe when he stood protectively beside her five-foot-five body (Ahern 2004, p. 6).

TT: co the anh ran chac den hoan hao. Doi chan dai vam vo la ket qua luyen tap the thao tu nhieu nam nay. Gery co voc ngudi cao to. Ben anh, co luon cam thay an toan (Ahern 2007, p. 15).

[his body is toned to perfection. His long muscular legs are results of doing sports for several years. Gerry is big and tall. Next to him, she always feels safe]

These two examples describe a man’s appearance and certain features, which would appear to be attractive to women. Both Keyes and Ahern describe attractive men as tall and well groomed with attractive features such as a toned body, dark hair and blue eyes. One interesting point is how the height of men is rendered in the Vietnamese translation. In the source texts, a man is either “five-foot-tenish,” or has a “five-foot-five body,” while in the translations, respectively, he is “1 m60” (which is equal to five feet three) or “tall and big.” The different measurements of height for Vietnamese and Irish men obviously have presented a problem for the translators. While in the first case the translator converts this measurement to a regular Vietnamese way of measuring, the translator in the second case chooses to use a description rather than an exact measurement. As a result the man in the first case appears to be rather short for Vietnamese readers and in the second case, the shorter man in the source text, appears to be taller in the translation. It is also remarkable that in the source text, the female character shows her regret because she paid attention only to the man’s suits and made her judgement of him based on that, but in the translation she felt regret because she did not notice his suits and his personality. In the storyline, the man was a blue-collar worker while the heroine worked in a fabulous restaurant where the guests were usually pop stars, which is why she overlooked him because of the fact that he did not appear to be as fabulous as others. In the translations, there is the feeling that the girl was not attentive enough to recognize his nice suits.

Another interesting point to notice here is that in all quoted examples the female characters seem to play the active role of judges, who observe men and evaluate them. Men in these examples, as well as in most products of popular culture, as noticed by Milestone and Meyer, have become objects of display and desire (2012, p. 115).

ST: I never thought I’d meet a nice man who wanted to marry me. Plenty of lunatics, undoubtedly. But a nice man, a bit older than me, with a decent job, good-looking, funny, kind (Keyes 2003, p. 6).

TT: Toi chua tung nghi se co mot ngubi dan ong nao do tu te muon cuoi toi lam vo. May ten do hoi thi khoi phai noi, day ra day roi. Nhung mot anh chang tu te, lon hon toi mot chdt, co cong viec lam an dang hoang, ngoai hinh ua nhin, hai huoc, tot bung (Keyes 2010, p. 10).

[I never thought that there would be a decent man who wants to marry me. The oddballs, needless to say, are everywhere. But a decent man, a bit older than me, with a decent job, nice appearance, humorous, kind]

ST: When we first started going out together I was waitressing most nights, so I could only see him when I finished work. But he would wait up for me. And when I came around, exhausted, after hours of dishing up char-grilled whatever to the people of London (or the people of Pennsylvania or Hamburg, if I’m to be more accurate), he would—and I can’t believe it to this day—he would bathe my aching feet and massage them with Body Shop peppermint foot lotion. Even though it was past twelve and he had to be at work helping people fiddle their tax returns, or whatever it is that accountants do, at eight the following morning, he still did it. Five nights a week. And he would bring me up-to-date on the soaps. Or go to the twenty-four-hour garage for me when I ran out of cigarettes. Or he would tell me funny little stories about his day at work. I know that it’s hard to believe that any story about accounting could be funny, but he managed it. [...] And he would help me count my tips. And give me great advice about what to invest them in. Government bonds and that kind of thing (Keyes 2003, p. 14).

TT: Ldc bat dau hen ho di choi hau nhu toi nao toi cung di lam nen chi co the gap anh sau khi xong viec. Vay ma anh luon san sang doi. Va khi toi ghe anh, met lu sau hang tieng dong ho duyen dang phuc vu cac thu hun khoi quai qui gi day cho cac quy khach London (hay noi chinh xac hon la cac quy khach nguoi Pennsylvania hay Hamburg), den gib toi van khong tin noi- the nao anh cung rua hai ban chan moi ra rbi cua toi va mat xa bang kem lam mem da chan mm bac ha cua Body Shop han hoi. Cho dd ldc do la mubi hai ruoi dem va tam gib sang hom sau phai co mat o cong ty, huong dan khach hang cac thu tuc thue, cac thu cong viec cua dan ke toan, thi anh van cham soc doi chan toi. Nam toi moi tuan. Anh con ke lai tubng tan cac tap phim truyen hinh dai tap neu toi bo lo. Anh chay den cac cua hang tap hoa mo cua hai bon tren hai bon neu toi het thuoc la, Roi anh ke chuyen phiem o cong ty, Toi biet, chuyen cua may ngubi ke toan co gi ma hai huoc. Vay ma anh lam toi cubi nac ne. [..] anh con gmp toi dem tien boa, chi cho toi tan tinh nen dhng tien ay dau tn ra sao. Nhu mua trai phieu chmh phu chang han, dai loai vay (Keyes 2010, p. 17).

[when started to date, I went to work most evening so we could meet only after work. But he was always willing to wait for me. When I came to him, I am exhausted after several hours of gracefully serving the smoked-whatever to the dear customers of London, (Pennsylvania or Hamburg to be exact). Till now I could not believe that he washed my tiring feet and massage them with lotion of peppermint scent from Bodyshop. Even it was half past twelve at night and at eight o’clock next morning he had to be in the company to instruct his clients all the tax process, the things that accountants always do, still he takes care of my feet. Five times per week. He told me in details all the TV series if I missed them. He ran to shops which opened twenty four on twenty four if I ran out of cigarettes. Then he told stories about his company. I know there’s nothing funny in accountant’ stories, but he managed to make me laugh hard. [.] He also helps me to count the tips and kindly advises me how to invest that money. Such as buying government bond, things like that]

ST: He always managed to make her laugh. When she came home tired and angry after work he was always sympathetic and listened to her complain. They seldom fought, and when they did it was over stupid things that made them laugh afterward, like who had left the porch light on all day or who had forgotten to set the alarm at night (Ahern 2004, p. 7).

TT: Anh luon muon bay tro gi do de Holly mim cubi. Tro ve nha sau gib lam viec, anh luon o ben de an ui va lang nghe co. Hiem khi nao anh va co gian nhau, neu co, au chi chi la mot chuyen vo van ma sau do ca hai chng giang hoa (Ahern 2007, p. 16).

[He always wants to play some games so that Holly smiles. Going back home from work, he always stays beside her to calm her down and listen to her. Rarely do he and she fight, if yes, it is over nonsense things and both make peace after]

In terms of personality, the ideal man in general has to be appealing, kind and he knows how to make his partner laugh. In the first example, the heroine looks for somebody nice while in the translation it is somebody decent. These two words are often treated as synonyms, but according to the Longman

Dictionary of Contemporary English nice means “pleasant, kind or polite” while decent means “of a good enough standard or quality.” By putting the ideal man in this light, the heroine in the Vietnamese translation seems to be more demanding of her perfect man.

In both the second and third examples, the male character appears to be “a new man of nurturer,” who represents a type of “feminized masculinity” (Milestone and Meyer 2012, p. 116). These new men respect women and they are dedicated to their relationship. For both Vietnamese and Irish societies, in which men traditionally play the active role in a relationship, it is always the women who take care of the men, and to some extent, play the role of servants, who are supposed to do everything to look after the men in the domestic sphere. However, in these novels, the men appear to be understanding and willing to share and play an equal role with their partners in the relationship. The introduction of such new norms could be seen as a liberating factor, which attracts female readers to contemporary popular fiction, and at the same time it could be seen as a real call for equality. Noticeably in both examples the female characters all work and they always come home after their men. This representation of women contrasts with the conventional image of traditional women, who always stayed at home, did all the housework and waited for their husbands to come back home from work.

As can be seen in the third example, a mistranslation that may lead to a misunderstanding on the part of the target readers occurs. In the source context, it is Holly who comes home exhausted from work but it appears in the translation that Gerry was the shattered one, so it appears to readers that Holly is jobless and just stays at home and waits for her husband to come back from work and comfort her. In this example, there is also a normalisation of information. Furthermore, the source texts provide concrete examples of what the couple argue about while in the translation they are generalized as “nonsense things.”

It can be said that the male characters in contemporary female popular fiction are made to look good, lean, sculpted and attractive to women, Furthermore, it can also be noticed that the traditional strong, authoritative, lacking sensitivity and emotion masculinity has been replaced by softer, more sensitive, in a way non-sexist and relates to women as a human beings than sex objects. Both the original and translation have clearly illustrated this trend despite some minor mistranslations.